"ARES: OUR GREATEST ADVENTURE"Our third prologue short for Ridley Scott's The Martian was produced as a mini-episode of StarTalk from the year 2035, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson from the same year. The video gives viewers a complete overview of how an Ares mission works, with a focus on the danger and bravery of the astronauts who undertake the mission. The Nerdist calls the video "one of the best, most creative, and frankly most awesome promos for a movie ever."

When we started production on the concept, we wanted to capture the spirit and familiarity of a Cosmos production, but give everything a distinct stylization of its own. The introductory sequence features a beautiful aerial shot of Mars as we've never seen it before. We don't know where we are yet but we know it's somewhere special. From there, we introduce Tyson as he reminds viewers of humanity's longstanding fascination with Mars and offers a step-by-step breakdown of how an ARES mission works. Tyson himself was cast as a character in the world: aged slightly and played with more gravitas than usual. The “holo-room” set was a creative choice that allowed us to go on a journey with Neil that would keep the focus on the Hermes and its voyage, bringing the cosmos directly to our host in a futuristic 360° mixed reality setting.